Structural Analysis

Everyone knows that the game of billiards involves balls careening off the sides of a pool table — but few people may know that the same principle applies to fusion reactions. How charged particles like electrons and atomic nuclei that make up plasma interact with the walls of doughnut-shaped devices known as tokamaks helps determine how efficiently fusion reactions occur. Specifically, in a phenomenon known as secondary electron emission (SEE), electrons strike the surface of the wall, causing other electrons to be emitted.

Neway Atnafu is a licensed professional engineer (PE) and certifed project management professional (PMP). He is a mechanical engineer and engineering project manager who has worked on many aspects of the National Spherical Torus Experiment-Upgrade (NSTX-U), including the cooling systems, neutral beam relocation, vacuum vessel analysis, magnetic coil bus bars, passive plate modifcations and structural support design. He is the responsible engineer for the NSTX-U cooling systems, and is expert in the safe operation of mobile and overhead cranes, hoisting and rigging.